Waffle iron



'June 17, 1930. H. M, A. sTRAuss WAFFLE IRON Filed July 18. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvENToR D Wma/Sirms @Aj/Za 4 zLsATToR Ys June 17, 1930. H, M A sTRAUss 1,764,908

WAFFLE IRON Filed July 18. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 20 To these and other ends the invention re- .Pgmtajane 1,1, 1930 UNITED 4S'Ief'llezs PATENT' orne- E STBAUSS, 0F ROCHESTER, NW YORK, .ASSTGNOR T0 MIBmN-l You 7 This invention relates to a wallie iron and has for one of its objects the provision of al generally improved,` more satisfactory,

and more attractive wale iron than those 8 heretofore known.

-' Another object of the invention is the pro;

Still another object is the provision of im- Y Ereved and simplified means for holding a eatingelement'in position on a wale iron A'further lobjectief. the .invention is vthe revision of simple and effective means for Holding a casing in cooperative relation to the grid of the wallie iron.

sides in certain improvements and combina. tions of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end f of the specification.

In the drawin constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, w1th-parts 3 broken away and parts in section;

' Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially centrally through the upper grid lof a waffle iron and associated parts;

j Fig. 4 is a plan 'of the, walile iron with Y the casing and other parts removed to show the heating element andV the thermostatic element; l v

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section Y A"similarvto a portion of Fig. 3, the lane of the section'being at right angles to t e plane of Fig. 3, and 4 l Y' Fig. 6 'is a fra entary vertical sect1on sho details ofglllle thermostatically controlled indicator and associatedparts.I

,Similar reference numerals throughout the several ,views 'indicate the same parts.

y' Referrin now toFigs. 1 and2 of the dra A 'e ,t ereis shown a base 10on which restsa ower casing 11 within which 1s re- .COBPOMTION, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, COB'IPOBATION 0l' NEW kuranium mon y Application lled: July 18,

199s. smal no. 37am.

ceived the lower grid 12 of a wallleir'on.` An l' i vupper grid 13 is hingedly connected to the lower grid by a hinge 14, so that theupper grid maybe swung u wardly from the lower grid in order to insert batter or to ref move a cooked wallie.

This wallie iron-is heated, and is provide ing element 15 on the lower lside of the lower grid 12 and another electric heating ele- (preferably electrically with'an electric heatment 16 on the u per'side or back of the upper grid 13. T ese 'heating elements are he din position on their res ective grids by means described below. lectric conducting -wires 17 lead through the armored cable 18 to supply current to the heating element 16. y

The electric heatingelement 16`may be of annular forin having a comparatively large central opening therethrou h, asshown especially in Figs.3 and 4. he element may as-shown in Fig. 3, t e periphery of the :I plate 20 resting upon the top ofthe element Fig. 1 is a sies` elevation'of a wallie iron' in position by a nut 22 screwed on a threaded 'be conveniently held in place on the grid by means of a retaining member suchl as the dished plate'20 spanning the central opening hollow stud .23 passing through la hole atv the center of the plate20, the lower end of thefstud being fixed toa stirrup member 24secured by screws 25 to lugs 26 formed on the grid 13. It will be ,obvious from Fig. l3 that lwhen the nut 22 is screwed down against the plate .20, it holds the latter n place and thus securely -retains the heating element 16 in positionon the back of the grid 13.

The lower heating element 15 may likewisev be of annular form, and may be'similarl held in' place by a dished plate 30 (Fig. 1

` retained by a nut 31 ona stud 32 screwed into a threaded cpening in a lug 33 formed on the' bottom o stud 32 throught e bottom of the casing 11 and through the top of the base 10, a nut 34 `the lower grid 12. This` preferably extends downwardly casing 11 on the base of t and to hold the casing 11 andthe lower grid ther. t is found in practice that the upper grid kof an electrically heated "wailie iron `is frequently cooler than the lower grid, because the heat radiates faster from the upper grid than from j the lower one.- In the usualv prior wale irons, thecasing coverin the upper grid is made substantially entire y of metal, which permits rapid radiation and loss of heat. In the present wailie iron, however, a substantial portion of the upper casing is' made of. non-metallic material which is a relatively poor conductor of heat, and thus the heat losses from the up er grid are reduced to such an extent that t is grid remains at substantially the same temperature as the lower grid, so thatthe wale is cooked uniformly on both sides.

For instance, the casing covering the up- .per grid and its heating element may comprise an annular rim 40 of metal, theouter -peripheiy of whichv lies against the back of the grid 13 and engages a shoulder 41 on the grid to prevent lateral displacement as shown in Fig. 3.' The main portion o vthe metallic rim 40, as-shown.

this upper casing comprises a non-metallic member 42 having a diameterslightly greater than the diameter of the opening in the annular rim 40, so that the outer periph-- ery of the non-metallic member 42 may overlap. and rest upon'the inner periphery of his member 42 may be made of an suitable non-metallic material having relatively low heat conductivity, and is referabl ofceramic material such as Aporce in or t e like. In addition to' the usefulness of this construction in reducing heat losses, it 'is likewise of great advantage in making a wale iron of more pleasing and attractive appearance,l especially since various forms of decoration or ornamentation not practicable on metal may l be applied easil to the ceramic member 42.

Users of wa irons frequently vfind it diicult to determinewhen the waille iron has been suiciently heated so that itis ready-for cooking. One of the. principal objects -ofv the. present invention is to overcome his difficulty by providing an autog Vmatic heat responsive signal or indicator which will inform the user when the wale iron is at the proper temperature.

To this end, a thermostatic element is the stem extending thence'upwardly through thehollow stud 23 and being guided thereby. This stem is attached at its upper end tov an indicating target 51 which is vertically movable within a central cavity of a member 52 which serves not only as a casing for the indicating device but also as a retaining means for the up er grid casing. This member 52 extends through an aperture at the center of the casing portion 42 and is threaded internally to screwupon the threads of the stud 23, as shown especially in Fig. 6. Thus the member 52'serves as a nut to hold the member 42 in place, and since this member 42 contacts with the annular rim portion 40 of the casing, the'rim 40 isl thus likewise held in position in cooperatve relation to the grid 13.

The member' 52 surrounds the target 51 and is closed at its top, but it has one or more sight openings 53 through which the indicating target 51 may be observed when it is in alinement with these sight openings. Normally, when the. wale iron' is cold, the free end of the thermostatic strip is depressed so that the stem and target 51 drop .by gravity to their lowermost position, illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6.- In vthis position, the target 51 is below the level of 53, so that it may bev readily observed v through these openings, Preferably, the target 51 is made of a color contrasting cons icuously with the external color of-the mem er 52. For instance, the member '52 may be nickel plated, while the target 51A may be bright red. Thus the user of the watlle iron may easily observe that the taret has risen into alinement with theopeniron has been heated to the roper tempera ture so that cooking of wa es may bev commenced.

Should the' wallie iron become too hot, as may sometimes happen when the current is left on for a considerable time without putting -any batter in the waille iron, then the thermostatic strip 45 will bend still more so that the free endthereof is raised still farther. This will raise the target 51 partially above the sight openings 53, and the user, observing this misplacement of the indicator,

ings 53, and will thus know that the wallie i durable, and of but few parts. The member manner'of the temperature conditions of thev iron, and indicates specifically when the temperature is correct fory cooking. Furthermore, the entire construction is simple and 52 serves not only as a nut for retaining the casing portions and 42 in position, but also as a casing `for the indicating device. .The stud 23 has -a triple function, serving partly to retain the heatin element 16 in position, partly to retain t e casing portions 40 and 42 in positon, and partly as a guide for portionsof the indicating device. Thus the number of parts of the wale iron has beenl reduced, resulting in a construction which may be producedy more economically and assembled more quickly, and which is less likely to get out of order' than other constructions having a greater number of parts.

While one embodiment of the invention l has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application .1s therefore not to'be limited to the precise details shown, -but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a Vwaiie iron having a housing, of an indicator casing projecting above the to of* said housing, an indicator within sais casing having a target portion, a thermostatic element for moving said indicator :to bring' said target portion into predetermined position within said casing when the walie ironis heated to a' predetermmed temperature, and sight open-- ings on opposite sides of said casing so that i .i sald target when in said predetermined posif tion ma be observed said wa e iron. l' 2. The. combination vwith a waiile iron grid,.of a casing coverin casing comprising a metalhc rim and a nonmetallic central portion of substantial area,

from opposite sides of and means engaging said non-metallic porl tion for holdin said portion in cooperative `relation to sai rim and for concomitantly holding said rim in cooperative relation to said rid. A

3. he combination with a walile iron metallic central portion of substantial area,

' and screw threaded means holding said nonmetallic portion against said rim and con said grid, said i 4. The combination with a wale iron grid, of acasing coveri said grid hollow means engaging said casing for holding it in position, and a thermostatically controlled indicating device having a portion within said hollow means. Y

5. The combination with a waliie iron grid, of a casing covering said grid, said casing comprisin a portion havin an aperture therein, hol ow screw threa ed means secured to said grid and extending through said aperture for holding said casing portion ,in position, a thermostatic element, and

indicating means including a stem passing through said vhollow screw threaded means and cooperating with said thermostatic element for indicating when' said grid is heated to a redetermined temperature.

.6. n a wallie iron, the combination'with a grid, of an electric heatin element for heating said grid, a casing inc uding a heat insulating portion of ceramic materialoverlying said grid and heating element, and a heat indicating device including a movable indieating member mounted on said ceramic ortion or indicating the heat condition o the vgrid beneath said ceramic portion and a bimetallic heat responsive element for operating said movable indicating member.

` 7 In a waiile iron, the combination with 95 a grid, of an electric heating element for heating said grid, avcasing overlying said (ix-lid and heating element, said casing inclu g a central heat insulating portion of porcelain and a metallic rim around said vporcelain portion, said o-rcelain portion having an aperture theret rough su stantially central- 1 thereof, and a. heat indicating device in-` c uding a part extending through and mounted in said aperture anda bi-metallic actuating element responsive toheat within said casin HERN- M.' Manual) srrRAUss..

comitantly holding said rim in cooperative-v 05 relation to said gnd.

iso 

